Level Four Advisory Services LLC Has $2.31 Million Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,776 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 244 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,104,735,000 after acquiring an additional 86,100 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after purchasing an additional 95,927 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,785,867,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,074,168,000 after buying an additional 33,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,434 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,151,080,000 after buying an additional 14,282 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Compass Point reduced their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $265.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $295.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.43. The company has a market cap of $186.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

American Express Company Profile

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.